Instructions
Choose one (1) question to write on and answer all its parts fully. State a specific claim about the topic, construct an argument for it, and draw on the posted learning resources for support, supplementing them with personal experience and opinion as directed. Don’t just answer off the top of your head or report on what you already know. The point is to use the required resources to answer the question. To receive full discussion credit, post the following each week:
An Initial post that directly answers one of the three posted questions at an appropriate level of detail. Initial posts should be at least 200 words long and are due by midweek, Saturday at 11:59 pm ET. A good initial post engages with course materials by citing one of the week’s required learning resources by author and title run into the body of the post; a great one cites and engages the contents of a primary and a secondary resource.
Two Replies to classmates’ initial posts, one under each of the two discussion questions you didn’t answer in your own initial post. Replies should be at least 75 words long each and are due by the end of the academic week, Tuesday at 11:59 pm ET. A good reply summarizes and evaluates the reasoning of a classmate’s initial post; a great one moves the discussion forward by asking a question, disagreeing, or suggesting alternatives that will lead to further dialogue.
One Wrap-Up post that responds to comments and questions left by classmates in their replies to your initial post. Rather than respond to each reply individually, just write one wrap-up that combines all your responses into one post. The wrap-up should be at least as long as a reply, but may need to be longer depending on the number and quality of replies received; the wrap-up is due by the end of the academic week, Tuesday at 11:59 pm ET, and is required even if your initial post didn’t get any replies.
Note:
Initial post quality determines 70% of the weekly discussion grade; the rest depends on the quality of replies and wrap-up. Refer to the Discussion Guidelines and Grading Rubric for additional details.
Do not use or cite outside sources. Use only the learning materials and links provided in our classroom.
Everyone needs to cooperate to ensure that the discussion remains balanced, productive, and engaging. When selecting a discussion question to answer, pick the one that has received the fewest initial posts so that the questions receive equal coverage. When selecting initial posts to reply to, seek out classmates whose initial posts have received the fewest replies so that everyone will have the same number of replies to answer in their wrap-ups. To ensure that you will receive good replies to answer in your wrap-up, always complete your initial post by the midweek deadline.
Initial posts are due by midweek, Saturday at 11:59 pm ET; two replies to classmates and a wrap-up post are due by the end of the week, Tuesday at 11:59 pm ET.
Question 1
Engaging in Epistemology: Truth, Belief, Justification. A key theme in the Allegory of the Cave, and indeed throughout Plato’s dialogues, is the quest to understand what knowledge is. In one widely quoted passage, Plato claims that knowledge is true belief that can be explained or defined somehow. Explore the epistemology of the Cave Allegory:
Answer the question: What is the difference between truth and belief, and how do I justify to other people the things I believe are true?
Use examples from the Allegory of the Cave and your own reasoning to make your argument.
Question 2
Engaging in Ethics: The Morality of Plato’s Philosopher. Because the main character in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is a philosopher, inquiring minds have long scrutinized his actions for an implicit moral lesson. Explore the ethics of the Allegory by identifying and explaining its moral lesson(s) as you understand them.
Answer the question: Is it right or wrong to try to convince someone of something you believe to be true, even if it harms them?
Use examples from the Allegory of the Cave and your own reasoning and sense of right or wrong to make your argument.
Question 3
Engaging in Metaphysics: Visualizing Plato’s Theory of Forms. In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato tells a story with several layers of meaning to explain his views on the nature of reality. Read/watch the Learning Resources, then explain Plato’s Theory of Forms (or Ideas) by creating a diagram or constructing an image.
Answer the question: What does Plato’s Theory of Ideas mean to me personally and how does my image or diagram convey my understanding of it?
Illustrate the Allegory of the Cave and describe/explain your work using terms drawn from the text.
